THEY CAME FROM…SOMEWHERE ELSE: Part III of “The Lessons Learned from 1950s Science Fiction Films”

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Popular Comic Book, circa 1951

The 1950s was a schizophrenic decade.

It was marked by several conflicting perceptions about our relationship to the world around us. On one hand, for many families it was a decade of opportunity. The GI Bill allowed many of our returning soldiers to go to college. The subsequent raise in the income level coupled with the housing boom provided the opportunity for many of them to realize the “American Dream” of home ownership.

When this decade is looked back upon through a typical soft-focus prism of nostalgia, it appears to be a time of optimism and never-ending rosy vistas. It was a time of hula hoops, TV Dinners, Rock and Roll and Ozzie and Harriet.

That is, it looks like that if you choose to ignore the dark curtain behind which lurked the specters of prejudice, witch-hunts and blacklists, commies and traitors and spies, lions and tigers and bears, oh yeah!

While the rest of the 1950s Sci-Fi film market was busy fending off the fruits of megalomaniacal mad scientists and the karmic attacks of radioactive mutants, another group of films were mining our deepest fears.

This sub-genre of Science Fiction films reflected the paranoia following the Second World War. The rise of Communism and Russia’s new-found influence on the world stage was seen by some as a challenge to our way of life, a threat to truth, justice and the American Way, if you will.

As many opportunist political leaders in our country discovered the potent elixir of fear and suspicion, they used it to further their own careers…Sound familiar?

Congressman Richard Nixon

Thus, we had Richard Nixon pursuing suspected Communist, Alger Hiss, using the infamous “Pumpkin Papers” to make his case and give a boost to his career.

The “Red Menace” message was echoed and amplified by FBI Director, J. Edgar Hoover’s rantings in his book, “Masters of Deceit.”

But for sheer, unadulterated audacity, no one held a candle to the horror and tragedy wreaked by none other than, the representative from the great state of Wisconsin, Senator Joseph McCarthy.

The House Un-American Activities Committee

Known by his colorful military nickname “Tail-gunner Joe,” McCarthy held court for more than three years, from 1951 to 1954, as the head of The House Un-American Activities Committee. He took that opportunity to stoke the flames of “The Red Scare,” and in the process, destroy countless lives of innocent Americans by painting them as “Communists” or “Communist Sympathizers” bent on destroying America from within.

As is usually the case, art imitated life during this time, shining a light not only on the cause, but the results of this shameless endeavor as only the cinematic chronicler of popular culture could do.

“The War of the Worlds,” although based on an H.G. Wells story written in 1898, is one of the archetypal “invaders from outer space” Science Fiction films of the 1950s. Thanks to its updated story line, it painted a dark picture of the devastating results of unexpected aggression. Its subliminal hooks captured its audience in a metaphorical representation of the destruction of the United States by an outside invading power.

So too, the message of “Earth vs. The Flying Saucers” is helplessness in the face of armed, soulless aggressors. It is no coincidence that in the course of the attack just about every major American monument is destroyed.

But, “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” is considered the quintessential “Red Menace” film by most film historians.

The basic story involved a sleepy town somewhere in California. Its local doctor is confronted by several of his patients claiming that a family member or friend is “not acting like himself.” The doctor’s subsequent investigation reveals an insidious plot wherein giant pods (most likely from outer space) are growing exact replicas of the local citizens. These “pod people” take over their human counterparts while they are sleeping.

One by one, the townspeople become literally shells of their former selves, inhabited by unfeeling aliens bent on taking over the world from within.

With its clear subtext of “Conformity at Any Cost,” the obvious parallels to the Communist witch hunts of that decade did not escape the general public. This film is now regarded as one of the most powerful statements against The House Un-American Activities Committee and the trail of ruined lives it left in its wake.

“Tail-gunner Joe”

Unfortunately, echoes of this time are with us today. It seems that, as a society, we are still unable to practice true inclusivity. The measure of a person’s character is much too often still judged by outmoded stereotypes. Modern-day prejudice is wielded much like the sword of Anti-Communism was over 50 years ago.

Sadly, it appears that there will always be an “us” and a “them.”

You know, I thought this blog would be a little funnier but no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t capture the light-heartedness of Parts I and II. I guess nutty professors and giant bugs are funnier than the all too real monsters of our own human nature.

Perhaps there are some lessons that are never learned.

For information on Jessica Atwater, the original Movielady and my mentor, and to read some of her classic film reviews :www.movielady.com